Rare 2010 Penny Errors Worth Money (Full List With Pictures)

A retained strike through 2010-D Lincoln cent sold for $980 at GreatCollections in 2017 — not a bad return on a one-cent coin. This complete 2010 penny errors list covers every documented minting mistake from the first year of the Union Shield design, with confirmed sales ranging from $5 to nearly $1,000. Here’s what to look for and what each error is actually worth.

1. 2010 Penny BIE Error (Up to $75)

The BIE is a die crack exclusive to Lincoln cents. It forms when a vertical fracture opens between the “B” and “E” in “LIBERTY,” producing a raised line that looks like the capital letter “I.”

Dies take millions of hits over their working life, and stress concentrates in the narrow gap between those two letters. Once the crack develops, every coin struck from that die carries the same raised bar.

2010 was the first Shield reverse year, giving BIE examples from this date a modest first-year appeal among variety collectors.

Value: Most 2010 BIE pennies trade between $5 and $25 based on crack clarity and coin grade. Sharp examples in uncirculated condition can reach $50 to $75. No major auction house records exist for 2010 BIE cents specifically — pricing comes from eBay completed sales and dealer inventory. Circulated pieces with faint cracks rarely break $10.

How to Identify: Look at “LIBERTY” on the obverse under 10x magnification. You want a thin, raised vertical line between the “B” and “E,” running from the baseline toward the letter tops.

A genuine BIE shows raised metal with the same luster as the surrounding surface. If the line looks scratched or gouged into the coin, that’s post-mint damage — die cracks produce raised features, not grooves.

Some BIE cracks extend past the B-E gap into the field or connect to the rim. Partial lines carry less premium than full, well-defined bars.

Compare your coin against photos of documented BIE errors on VarietyVista or Cuds-On-Coins. The fastest confirmation: raised line with original mint luster sitting precisely between B and E.

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2. 2010 Penny Misaligned Die Error (Up to $150)

A misaligned die error happens when the hammer die (upper) drifts out of alignment with the anvil die (lower) during striking. One side of the coin — usually the obverse — shows a shifted design while the other side stays centered.

Don’t confuse this with an off-center strike, where the entire planchet is mispositioned. With a misaligned die, the collar still contains the planchet, so you get a complete rim all around. The shift comes from die positioning equipment that wasn’t calibrated properly before the run started.

Value: Minor shifts on 2010 cents trade for $20 to $75. Dramatic examples where the shift exceeds 10% can reach $100 to $150 depending on grade and visual impact. These rarely appear at major auction houses, so pricing data comes mostly from eBay sold listings and collector forums.

How to Identify: Place the coin flat and compare the obverse design position against the reverse. If Lincoln’s portrait is pushed toward one edge while the shield sits centered on the back, you have a misaligned die.

The shift should be uniform in one direction — left, right, up, or down — not randomly distorted. Measure the displacement in millimeters using calipers if you have them. Greater shifts bring higher prices.

Here’s the key difference from off-center strikes: misaligned die coins have a complete rim all the way around. Off-center strikes show a blank crescent where the design is missing entirely. If you see bare metal with no rim on one side, that’s off-center, not misaligned.

Fastest check: complete rim on both sides, shifted design on one face only.

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3. 2010 Penny Off-Center Strike Error (Up to $300)

An off-center strike occurs when the blank planchet isn’t seated properly in the collar before the dies come down. The coin gets only a partial impression, leaving a crescent-shaped blank area where no design appears.

High-speed presses process hundreds of coins per minute, and feeding errors happen at that pace. The Mint catches most of them, but some slip through. The 2010 Shield reverse makes off-center strikes stand out — Lincoln’s portrait or the shield gets partially cut off, and exposed blank metal contrasts hard against the design.

Value: Minor off-center strikes of 10–20% sell for $5 to $15. The sweet spot is 50% off-center with the date still visible, which can push $100 to $300 depending on grade and eye appeal. Dateless examples are worth far less — without a readable date, buyers can’t confirm the year. eBay completed sales show consistent activity in the $50–$200 range for mid-grade 2010 specimens.

How to Identify: Hold the coin flat and look for a crescent-shaped blank area. The struck portion should show sharp, fully formed details. The blank area should be smooth raw metal — no ghostly design, no scratches, no tool marks.

Estimate the off-center percentage by gauging how much design is missing. Under 10% is a minor error. At 50% or more with a readable date, you have a coin that collectors actually want.

Post-mint damage from a grinding wheel can fake an off-center look, but the struck portion will show disturbed surfaces instead of crisp details. Also check both sides — off-center strikes affect obverse and reverse equally. If only one side looks shifted, that’s a misaligned die error instead.

Fastest check: blank crescent on both sides with sharp details on the struck portion.

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4. 2010 Penny Re-Punched Mint Mark Error (Up to $330)

A re-punched mint mark (RPM) happens when the “D” is punched into the working die more than once at slightly different positions. The result is a shadow, overlap, or doubling visible on the mint mark itself.

Before CNC technology, mint marks were applied by hand, so slight misalignment was routine. RPMs became less common in modern coining, but 2010-D cents still have documented examples. The overlap typically shows as thickened serifs or a faint second “D” offset from the primary mark — subtle enough that most people walk right past it.

Value: A 2010-D Lincoln Shield penny graded MS64 with an RPM sold for $330 on eBay in 2015. That’s the highest documented sale for this variety on a 2010 cent. Clearly visible RPMs in uncirculated condition generally trade between $50 and $200. Circulated examples with weak or partial doubling go for $15 to $40. Check Wexler’s listings and CONECA attributions for specific die pair identifications, which can shift value.

How to Identify: You need 20x magnification or higher for this one. Focus on the “D” mint mark below the date on the obverse.

Look for traces of a second “D” offset from the primary punch. Common signs include doubled serifs, a thickened appearance on one side of the letter, or a partial shadow impression at a slightly different angle.

RPMs get confused with machine doubling, which produces a flat, shelf-like distortion. Genuine RPMs show fully formed, rounded letter features on both the primary and secondary marks. Machine doubling flattens one side of the letter and has zero collector value.

Compare your mint mark against normal 2010-D examples. If the “D” looks clean and uniform, move on. Check Wexler’s doubleddie.com for cataloged 2010-D RPM die pairs to match your coin.

Fastest check: a clearly doubled serif on the “D” under 20x magnification.

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5. 2010 Penny Doubled Die Obverse Error (Up to $415)

Doubled die obverse (DDO) errors originate during die production, not during striking. When the hub impresses the design onto a working die in two slightly misaligned passes, the die carries a permanent doubled image. Every coin struck from that die shows identical doubling.

On 2010 pennies, the doubling typically appears on “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” or the date numerals. Both the Philadelphia and Denver mints produced documented DDO varieties this year — Wexler catalogs them as WDDO listings, and CONECA maintains its own attributions.

Value: A 2010-P Lincoln penny graded MS63 with a doubled die obverse sold for $415 at Heritage Auctions. Circulated 2010 DDO pennies trade between $20 and $50 assuming the doubling is genuine and visible without a loupe. Uncirculated examples with strong, clean doubling in the $100–$300 range appear on eBay regularly. Coins matched to a specific attributed die pair tend to sell for more than unattributed ones.

How to Identify: Start with “LIBERTY” under 10x magnification — doubling here is usually the easiest to detect. Look for shadow letters, thickened strokes, or clear separation between two impressions of the same character.

Check the date next. DDO doubling often shows as notching on the tops or bottoms of the numerals. “IN GOD WE TRUST” is another common area.

Here’s the critical distinction: true doubled dies versus machine doubling. True DDOs produce crisp, fully formed duplicate images where both impressions have equal depth and definition. Machine doubling creates a flat, shelf-like distortion where one side of a letter looks smeared or pushed down. Machine doubling is worthless — it happens during striking, not die production.

Compare to images on doubleddie.com or VarietyVista to match against known 2010 die pairs. Fastest check: crisp, separated doubling on “LIBERTY” with equal depth on both impressions.

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6. 2010 Penny Clashed Die Error (Up to $420)

Die clashes happen when the obverse and reverse dies slam together without a planchet between them. Each die picks up a partial mirror image of the other — so subsequent coins show ghost impressions from the wrong side.

On the obverse, faint traces of the Shield design might appear in Lincoln’s field. On the reverse, a ghostly outline of Lincoln’s profile can lurk behind the shield. This happens during die setup or when the planchet feed jams. The dies survive the impact, but they carry scars for every coin struck after the clash.

Value: A 2010-P Lincoln penny graded MS60 with an obverse die clash sold for $420 on eBay in 2016. Minor clashes with barely visible transfers add $5 to $20. Prominent clashes showing clear design elements in uncirculated condition reach $50 to $150 regularly. The $420 sale was strong, likely driven by the clarity and extent of the transferred image. Most 2010 clashed dies fall in the $15–$75 range.

How to Identify: Examine the open field areas of both sides under 10x to 20x magnification. On the obverse, look around Lincoln’s portrait for faint, sunken impressions that don’t belong — curves from the shield, fragments of “ONE CENT” or “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”

On the reverse, search the shield surface for traces of Lincoln’s profile or obverse lettering. Tilt the coin under a single-point light source and rotate slowly. Shadows reveal shallow clash marks that flat overhead lighting hides completely.

Clash marks appear as incused (sunken) impressions, not raised ones. If you see raised foreign design elements, you may have a brockage instead.

Don’t confuse die clashes with die deterioration doubling, which creates mushy outlines around design elements. Clash marks are specific foreign design transfers from the opposite die.

Fastest check: a recognizable portion of the shield visible in Lincoln’s obverse field.

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7. 2010 Penny Die Cap Error (Up to $610)

A die cap forms when a freshly struck coin sticks to the upper hammer die instead of ejecting normally. That stuck coin becomes a new “die face,” striking every incoming planchet with its own reverse image.

With each hit, the stuck coin’s edges curl progressively around the die, eventually forming a cap or thimble shape. Early-stage caps retain sharp design details. Late-stage caps look more like abstract metal sculptures. Mint workers usually spot the problem fast, which keeps die caps rare at any date.

Value: A 2010-D Lincoln penny graded MS63 with a die cap error sold for $610 on eBay in 2019. Die caps from modern dates rarely appear at Heritage or GreatCollections — most trade through eBay and specialty error dealers. Early-stage caps with recognizable design elements sell for $200 to $600. The 2010-D sale remains the reference point for this date.

How to Identify: Die caps are hard to miss. The coin has a cupped or domed shape with edges curving upward around the perimeter. The obverse typically shows a normal strike, while the reverse displays a mirrored, incuse impression.

Weigh the coin — it should match the standard 2.5 grams for a zinc Lincoln cent. If it’s significantly heavier, the coin may have been struck multiple times or picked up extra metal during the capping process.

Look for progressive edge deformation. Early-stage caps show slight rim curling. Late-stage caps resemble small metal bowls. The concave interior should display mint luster, not the rough texture of post-mint bending.

Genuine die caps have uniform curvature consistent with the striking process. Random dents and folds from pocket damage won’t produce the symmetrical dome shape or the incuse reverse transfer.

Fastest check: cupped shape, incuse reverse impression, and mint luster on the interior.

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8. 2010 Penny Missing Clad Layer Error (Up to $770)

Lincoln cents since 1982 use zinc cores with a thin copper plating. A missing clad error happens when this plating fails to adhere on one or both sides, exposing the silvery-gray zinc underneath.

The plating peels because impurities enter during the electroplating stage. Contaminants weaken the bond between the copper coating and the zinc core. You end up with a coin that’s copper on one face and zinc on the other — a color contrast you can spot across the room.

Value: A 2010-P Lincoln penny graded MS63 with a reverse missing clad layer sold for $770 on eBay. Full-face plating loss on one side typically trades between $100 and $500 depending on grade. Both sides missing plating brings a higher premium. Partial loss — small patches rather than full-face exposure — goes for $20 to $75. PCGS and NGC both authenticate these, and a slab significantly boosts resale on specimens above the $300 mark.

How to Identify: The color gives it away instantly. One side appears normal copper-brown; the other shows the zinc core’s silvery-gray surface. You don’t need magnification for the initial detection.

Weigh the coin on a precision scale. Standard 2010 penny weight is 2.5 grams. Missing plating coins come in slightly lighter, around 2.4–2.45 grams, because the copper is gone.

Under magnification, the exposed zinc surface should be smooth and consistent, with sharp design details visible underneath. If the surface looks rough, corroded, or chemically etched, someone stripped the plating after minting — that’s damage, not an error.

Check the edge cross-section. On genuine examples, the copper layer is visibly absent along the rim. You can see raw zinc core without any copper barrier.

Fastest check: dramatically different colors on each face with full, sharp details on the zinc side.

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9. 2010 Penny Broadstrike Error (Up to $775)

A broadstrike occurs when the retaining collar — the metal ring that constrains the planchet during striking — fails to engage. Without it, metal flows outward under striking pressure, producing a coin that’s wider and thinner than spec.

The design stays complete and centered, which separates broadstrikes from off-center errors. The coin simply spreads beyond the intended 19.05mm diameter, often reaching 21–22mm. No raised rim forms because the collar wasn’t there to create one. The edge comes out smooth and flat.

Value: A 2010-P Lincoln Shield cent graded MS62 with a broadstrike sold for $775 at Heritage Auctions in 2015. That’s the highest confirmed price for a 2010 broadstrike. Uncirculated examples generally trade between $150 and $500. Circulated pieces in lower grades go for $50 to $100. The oversized, rimless appearance drives collector demand here — these coins look wrong in a way that’s immediately obvious.

How to Identify: Measure the diameter with calipers. Broadstrikes run 21–22mm versus the standard 19.05mm. That size difference is visible to the naked eye, but calipers make it definitive.

Weigh the coin. Despite being larger, it should match the standard 2.5 grams — no metal is added or removed, just spread out. Abnormal weight suggests a different error type.

Check for rim absence. A true broadstrike has no raised rim at all. If a partial rim exists, you may have a partial collar strike instead — that’s a different category with different pricing.

The full design must be present and centered on both faces. Missing design elements point to an off-center strike, not a broadstrike.

Fastest check: wider than 20mm, no rim, full centered design, correct weight of 2.5 grams.

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10. 2010 Penny Die Crack Error (Up to $810)

Die cracks form when a coin die develops stress fractures from repeated use. Metal gradually fills these cracks during striking, and the accumulated material transfers as raised lines onto every planchet that die hits.

Cracks can show up anywhere — through Lincoln’s portrait, across inscriptions, along the rim. Small hairline cracks are common on worn dies and barely affect value. Large cracks that span the entire coin face or create unusual patterns are where the real money sits. The 2010 Shield design, with its dense vertical stripes and detailed border, tends to display die cracks prominently.

Value: A 2010-P penny graded MS65 with obverse and reverse die crack errors sold for $810 at GreatCollections in 2018. That dual-sided crack pattern pushed the price well above typical levels. Single-face cracks in uncirculated condition trade for $25 to $150. Circulated examples with minor cracks add $5 to $20 over face value. Cracks that evolve into cuds (see next entry) command their own separate premiums.

How to Identify: Rotate the coin slowly under bright, angled light. Die cracks appear as thin raised lines running across the surface — straight, curved, or branching.

The critical test: die cracks are raised, not incised. Run your fingernail across the line and you should feel a slight bump. Scratches from post-mint handling sit below the surface. This single check eliminates the vast majority of misidentified “errors.”

Under 10x magnification, genuine die cracks show the same surface texture and luster as the surrounding coin. The raised metal looks struck, not rough or corroded.

Cracks that reach the rim sometimes produce a small blob of extra metal at the intersection — that’s the beginning of a cud, which has its own (usually higher) value.

Fastest check: a raised line with mint luster that you can feel with your fingernail.

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11. 2010 Penny Improperly Annealed Error (Up to $880)

Annealing is the heat-treatment step that softens planchets before striking. When the temperature runs too hot, too cold, or the planchet sits in the oven too long, the metal’s surface chemistry changes. The coin comes out the wrong color.

Instead of normal copper-brown, improperly annealed 2010 pennies turn up in black, purple, yellow, orange, or other colors that have no business being on a Lincoln cent. The color covers the entire coin uniformly because the defect happened at the planchet stage, before any design was struck. All design details remain perfectly sharp — only the color is off.

Value: A 2010-P penny graded MS65 with improper annealing sold for $880 at Heritage Auctions in 2020. That’s the top price for this error on a 2010 cent. Vivid, dramatic colors in MS63–MS65 typically move for $200 to $600. Coins with subtle or uneven discoloration — which overlap with environmental toning — trade for $30 to $100. Color intensity and grade both drive pricing here.

How to Identify: The color must be uniform across the entire coin — both sides, including the rim and edge. This is what separates annealing errors from environmental toning, which creates uneven streaks, spots, or halos.

Hold the coin under bright light at multiple angles. The color should look like part of the metal, not a surface coating or residue. If you can wipe, scrape, or dissolve the color, it’s contamination.

Common genuine colors include deep purple-blue, bright orange, yellow-gold, and jet black. All design details should remain crisp and fully struck underneath. Mushy or worn details suggest the coin was damaged, not improperly annealed.

Weigh it — standard 2.5 grams. Abnormal weight points to a different planchet problem entirely.

Fastest check: uniform, unnatural color on both faces with sharp, undamaged design details.

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12. 2010 Penny Rim Cud Error (Up to $980)

A rim cud forms when a chunk of the die’s edge breaks away completely. The void left behind fills with metal during each subsequent strike, and that accumulated metal transfers as a raised blob along the coin’s rim.

Small cuds are routine on heavy-use dies. Large cuds that obliterate nearby inscriptions or design elements are considerably less common. The more metal the cud displaces and the more recognizable detail it covers — date digits, “LIBERTY,” Lincoln’s profile — the more collectors care about it.

Value: A 2010-D Lincoln cent graded MS62 with a large rim cud sold for $980 at GreatCollections in 2022. Small cuds under 3mm add $10 to $50. Medium cuds in the 5mm range reach $100 to $400 in uncirculated grades. The $980 example had an exceptionally large cud that obscured a significant portion of the rim and adjacent design. Location matters — cuds near the date or “LIBERTY” carry a premium over those in empty field areas.

How to Identify: Scan the rim for a raised, shapeless blob of metal extending from the edge into the coin’s field. The cud sits where a normal rim section or design element should be — it replaces, not adds.

Under magnification, the cud surface should show mint luster and a smooth, rounded contour. Post-mint rim dings produce sharp, angular dents — not raised blobs with factory finish.

Measure the cud’s size. Anything over 5mm is worth pursuing. Check whether it overlaps design elements, since cuds covering part of the date or a letter bring stronger premiums than those sitting in empty field space.

One rule: cuds always connect to the rim. A raised blob floating in the center of the coin is a die chip, which is a different and usually cheaper variety.

Fastest check: raised blob at the rim edge with smooth contour and mint luster.

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13. 2010 Penny Strike Through Error (Up to $980)

Strike through errors happen when foreign material — wire, hair, thread, grease, or shop debris — lands between the die and planchet at the exact moment of striking. The object blocks or displaces part of the design, leaving an impression of itself on the finished coin.

If the debris falls away afterward, only a ghost impression remains. If it stays embedded, that’s a “retained strike through” — and retained examples carry a significant premium because the foreign object is still physically there. The 2010-D cent that holds the price record for this date had a retained fragment clearly visible in the surface.

Value: A 2010-D Lincoln cent graded MS60 with a retained strike through error sold for $980 at GreatCollections in 2017. That ties the rim cud above as the highest confirmed sale for any 2010 penny error. Non-retained strike throughs in uncirculated condition sell for $25 to $100. Retained examples with identifiable embedded objects reach $200 to $600. Grease-filled die errors are the most common subtype and trade at the lower end of the range.

How to Identify: Look for unusual depressions, weak areas, or missing design details that don’t match normal wear. Grease-filled strikes show smooth, blank patches where letters or devices should be — the area looks like it was never struck at all.

Wire strikes leave thin raised or incised lines across the surface. Cloth impressions create a fabric-like texture. For retained strike throughs, look for foreign material embedded flush with the coin — sitting within the design, not piled on top of it.

Use 10x magnification and strong angled light. The affected area should show consistent depth and character. The rough, irregular texture of a post-mint scratch or gouge looks nothing like a clean strike through impression.

Check both sides — strike throughs can appear on either face or both.

Fastest check: an embedded foreign object surrounded by undisturbed mint luster.

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Conclusion

The 2010 Lincoln Shield cent error market runs from $5 BIE cracks to $980 retained strike throughs and rim cuds. In between, broadstrikes, die caps, improperly annealed coins, and doubled dies all trade in the hundreds. Being the first year of the Shield design keeps collector attention on this date. A 10x loupe, a precision scale, and some patience are the only equipment you actually need to start hunting.